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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26906752">and then there was</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/astahfrith/pseuds/astahfrith'>astahfrith</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>a willing heart [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Young Wizards - Diane Duane, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Beginnings, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Unreliable Narrator, absolutely no one is prepared for Wizard Izuku, least of all Izuku, or perhaps least of all All Might</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:54:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,877</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26906752</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/astahfrith/pseuds/astahfrith</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The first page isn't damaged at all. Stranger than that, even though it's still filled with text in Izuku's handwriting, it's...not the right text. Instead of <em>Quirk Analysis Vol. 14,</em> the top of the page reads,</p>
<p> <em>The Wizard’s Manual.</em></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>a willing heart [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1034810</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>and then there was</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Izuku closes the door of his bedroom behind him and slumps back against it. He’d managed to escape being seen by his mom, calling out an excuse about having a bunch of homework. With any luck, she won’t bother him until dinner. Which is good, because Izuku needs the time to be able to pull himself together. He closes his eyes and swallows around the lump in his throat, the one that still hasn’t gone away, an hour after All Might left him on the roof.</p>
<p>Really, all Izuku wants to do right now is curl up in bed and wallow for a day or three, but he can’t bring himself to worry his mom like that, so he’ll just have to deal. Speaking of, he needs to shower before dinner. He’s still covered in sludge and filth. He’d gotten a lot of judgmental looks on his way home.</p>
<p>Izuku sighs and then reluctantly dumps his backpack on his bed, grabs some clean clothes, and quietly opens his door and darts into the bathroom. He grimaces at his clothes as he strips out of them. He’ll have to do a secret load of laundry tomorrow evening while Mom is at work.</p>
<p>It takes three rounds of shampoo to get all the muck out of his hair. He scrubs down the rest of his body quickly, doing his best not to think. It’s only once the water finally runs clean that Izuku presses a hand to his mouth, leans his forehead against the wall, and lets himself cry. The tears drip silently down his face, mingling with the water. The grief and pain and bitter disappointment form a painful knot in his chest.</p>
<p>So many people in his life have told him directly or indirectly that his dream is impossible. A quirkless person, become a hero? Ridiculous. A fantasy.</p>
<p>Until now, Izuku had ignored them all, ignored the pain of the mockery and worse, the <em>pity</em>, blazing forward with infinite hope and determination. </p>
<p>But then -</p>
<p>Izuku muffles a single, wracking sob as he remembers the gentleness of All Might’s smile earlier as he suggested Izuku consider another career path, that there was no <em>shame</em> in it. And that - that <em>look </em>in his eye. Izuku knows it well. All Might didn’t actually say the words, but Izuku heard them anyway.</p>
<p><em>You can’t be a hero</em>.</p>
<p>Izuku lets himself cry for a few minutes longer before he finally forces himself to stop. If he stays in the shower any longer his mom is going to start to worry. He scrubs at his eyes and turns the water off. He towels off and dresses in clean clothes almost mechanically, then gathers his old clothes and flees back to his room.</p>
<p>Once the door is closed behind him again, Izuku quickly shoves the clothes deep into his hamper. Then, at last, he flops down on his bed, burying his face in the bedspread, staring at the darkness behind his eyelids. </p>
<p>Izuku feels numb, empty and hollowed out. He doesn’t know where to go from here. To be a hero has been his only dream for as long as he’s understood what a hero <em>is</em>. But the best hero in the world, <em>his</em> hero, his inspiration, doesn’t think he can do it.</p>
<p>Maybe All Might is right. Maybe Izuku should give up and pursue something more realistic. Become a policeman, or a doctor, like All Might said.</p>
<p>It hurts to think that. He doesn’t <em>want</em> to give up. Izuku turns his head, sighing miserably, and finds himself staring at his bookshelf. Almost absurdly cruelly, at eye level front and center is his copy of Hearnssen’s <em>So You Want to be a Hero,</em> with foreword and introduction by the Symbol of Peace himself, All Might<em>. </em>It’s part of a series on different careers, and while he’s read a few others, he’s always came back to this one. The librarian at the local library had had to ban him from borrowing it for six months when he was 8 so other people could have a chance. His mom had finally bought him his own copy for his 9th birthday. He’s read it so many times he has large swaths of it memorized.</p>
<p><em>Anyone can be a hero, </em>his traitorous memory whispers the words of All Might’s introduction to him. <em>Having a professional hero license is not the defining requirement of being a hero.</em> <em>In fact, I would bet you that you that no matter who you are, you already are a hero, to someone, somewhere. It’s not a quirk that makes a hero, or a flashy costume, or a cool hero name, or a dramatic standoff with a villain on the evening news. </em></p>
<p>
  <em>Being a hero is giving of yourself for the sake of others, and of the world. It is about being kind, even when the Universe is cruel. It is about smiling, even when it seems there is no hope. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It is about taking action, even when you are afraid. About putting aside your fear for the sake of doing what is right.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Be kind, and brave, and true, and you are well on your way to becoming a hero that will surpass even me.</em>
</p>
<p><em>Did he ever believe that? </em>Izuku wonders, swallowing around another lump in his throat.</p>
<p>He makes himself tear his gaze away from the book. He needs to stop wallowing. His mom is going to call him to dinner soon, and she’s always been too good at figuring out he’s been crying. He grits his teeth and sits up, and with great reluctance reaches for his backpack. He really does have a lot of homework. Hopefully it’ll distract him.</p>
<p>Izuku opens the flap and flinches when he sees the analysis notebook Kacchan destroyed, sitting in a plastic bag on top of his notebooks and folders and pencil case. He’d forgotten about it, what with every <em>other</em> terrible thing that’s happened today. He hesitates, and then reaches in and pulls it out, unsealing the bag and gingerly sliding the notebook out.</p>
<p>Huh. The covers are still charred, but it’s surprisingly drier than Izuku expected. Completely dry, actually. Weird. He frowns and carefully opens the cover to check how much has been damaged beyond repair.</p>
<p>He stops cold.</p>
<p>The first page isn’t damaged at all. Stranger than that, even though it’s still filled with text in Izuku’s handwriting, it’s...not the right text. Instead of <em>Quirk Analysis Vol. 14, </em>the top of the page reads,</p>
<p>
  <em>The Wizard’s Manual.</em>
</p>
<p>Below that, there’s still a table of contents, but the entries are completely unfamiliar. The first one should be Kamui Woods, but instead it says “Preliminary Determinations: a Question of Aptitude.” Below that, “Wizardly Preoccupations and Predilections.” And on and on: “Basic Equipment and Milieus.” “Introduction to Spells, Bindings, and <em>Geasa.” </em>“Familiars and Helpmeets: Advice to the Initiate.” “Psychotropic Spelling.”</p>
<p>What on <em>Earth?</em> Is this a joke?</p>
<p>Izuku turns the page in bewilderment and sure enough, “Preliminary Determinations: a Question of Aptitude” stares up at him, followed by more neat text in his own handwriting that is <em>definitely </em>not an analysis of Kamui Woods’ quirk.</p>
<p>Not knowing what else to do, Izuku reads.</p>
<p><em>Wizardry is one of the most ancient and misunderstood of arts. Its public image for centuries has been one of a mysterious pursuit, practiced in occult surroundings, and usually used at the peril of one’s soul. The modern wizard, who works with tools more advanced than bat’s blood and beings more complex than medieval demons, knows how far from the truth that image is. Wizardry, though exciting and interesting, is not a glamorous business, especially these days, when a wizard must work quietly so as not to attract undue attention for being able to achieve things far beyond what could be explained by a single quirk, or a quirk at all.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>For those willing to assume the Art’s responsibilities and do the work, though, wizardry has many rewards. The sight of a formerly twisted growing thing now growing straight, of a snarled motivation untangled, the satisfaction of hearing what a plant is thinking or a dog is saying, of talking to a stone or a star, is thought by most to be well worth the labor.</em>
</p>
<p>Izuku knows a few people whose quirk lets them talk to animals, but he’s never heard of talking to..<em>.plants</em> or <em>stones</em> or <em>stars. </em>None of those are sapient beings! Well, some people have argued that point with regards to plants, but stones and stars are <em>definitely </em>not living things.</p>
<p>Aren’t they? Izuku reads on. He's too fascinated to be more than mildly upset about the apparent erasure of his analysis notes.</p>
<p>
  <em>Not everyone is suited to be a wizard. Those without enough of the necessary personality traits will never see this manual for what it is. That you have found it at all says a great deal for your potential.</em>
</p>
<p>No, this has to be someone’s idea of a joke. Someone using their quirk to pull a prank. A cruel one. No one has <em>ever</em> told Izuku he has potential, not once in all the years since he was diagnosed as quirkless.</p>
<p>But...Izuku knows all of his classmate’s quirks. They’re the only ones who could have done this, except none of their quirks <em>can</em> do anything like this. </p>
<p>Maybe someone on the train to school? But why would they target him? How would they know about his notebook? What would be the <em>point</em> of filling it with this...this fantasy?</p>
<p>Against his better judgment, Izuku keeps reading.</p>
<p><strong>PRELIMINARY DETERMINATIONS</strong> </p>
<p>
  <em>An aptitude for wizardry requires more than just the desire to practice the art. There are certain inborn tendencies, and some acquired ones, that enable a person to become a wizard. This chapter will list some of the better documented of wizardly characteristics. Please bear in mind that it isn’t necessary to possess all the qualities listed, or even most of them. Some of the greatest wizards have been lacking in the qualities possessed by almost all others and have still achieved startling competence levels…</em>
</p>
<p>Skeptical, Izuku skims through the list of traits, pauses, and then reads them again, slower. An...astounding number of them apply to him, he can admit. He then boggles at a footnote that reads</p>
<p>“*Where ratings are not assigned, as in rural areas, the area of greatest population density will usually produce the most wizards, due to the thinning of worldwalls with increased population concentration…”</p>
<p>Worldwalls? There have been a few people over the years that have claimed to have dimension travelling quirks, but none of them has been able to prove it. Granted, they haven’t been able to prove all of them frauds, either. And here is the knowledge that not only are alternate dimensions real, wizards can presumably travel to them? This is getting more unbelievable by the minute. And then—</p>
<p><em>Wizards love words. Most of them read a great deal, and indeed one strong sign of a potential wizard is the inability to get to sleep without reading something first. But their love for and fluency with words is what makes wizards a force to be reckoned with. Their ability to convince a piece of the world—a tree, say, or a stone—that it’s not what it thinks it is, that it’s something else, is the very heart of wizardry. Words skillfully used, the persuasive voice, the persuading mind, are the wizard’s most basic tools. With them a wizard can stop a tidal wave, talk a tree out of growing, or into it—freeze fire, burn rain—even slow down the death of the Universe. That last, of course, is the reason there are wizards. See the next chapter</em>.</p>
<p>Izuku thinks about his mumbling, the only way he can seem to think clearly despite how much it annoys the people around him. His voracious reading as a child, trying to learn everything there was to know about quirks and heroes. His desire to be just like All Might, with his ability to calm and inspire with only a few simple words.</p>
<p>But Izuku isn’t All Might, as has been thoroughly driven home today. He’s just...him. Quirkless Izuku, useless, friendless crybaby Izuku, as Kacchan calls him. Can barely speak to other people without shaking. Cries at the drop of a hat. Can’t stand up for himself. Delusional, thinking he can be a hero without a quirk. Might as well just die, for all the use he is.</p>
<p>Izuku doesn’t think he could convince one of his classmates to spit on him if he was on fire, much less slow down the death of the whole <em>Universe.</em></p>
<p>...But he <em>wants</em> to. He <em>wants</em> the power to do that. Everyone...everyone has to start somewhere, right? Surely there are wizards out there who started like him.</p>
<p>Izuku realizes he’s starting to think about this as though it’s real. He’s starting to <em>hope</em>. And if he knows anything, he knows that hope is dangerous. All it has ever brought him is pain. And still he <em>keeps</em> hoping, like the fool his classmates call him, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.</p>
<p>And because apparently even All Might hasn’t quite crushed that foolishness yet, Izuku turns to the next chapter.</p>
<p>“Theory and Implications of Wizardry,” the heading says<em>. “History, Philosophy, and the Wizards’ Oath</em>.” </p>
<p>
  <em>Fifty or sixty eons ago, when life brought itself about, it also brought about to accompany it many Powers and Potentialities to manage the business of creation. One of the greatest of these Powers held aloof for a long time, watching its companions work, not wishing to enter into Creation until it could contribute something unlike anything the other Powers had made, something completely new and original. Finally the Lone Power found what it was looking for. Others had invented planets, light, gravity, space. The Lone Power invented death, and bound it irrevocably into the worlds. Shortly thereafter the other Powers joined forces and cast the Lone One out. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Many versions of this story are related among the many worlds, assigning blame or praise to one party or another. However, none of the stories change the fact that entropy and its symptom, death, are here now. To attempt to halt or remove them is as futile as attempting to ignore them. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Therefore there are wizards—to handle them. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A wizard’s business is to conserve energy—to keep it from being wasted. On the simplest level this includes such unmagical-looking actions as paying one’s bills on time, turning off the lights when you go out, and supporting the people around you in getting their lives to work. It also includes a great deal more. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Because wizardly people tend to be good with language, they can also become skillful with the Speech, the magical tongue in which objects and living creatures can be described with more accuracy than in any human language. And what can be so accurately described can also be preserved—or freed to become yet greater. A wizard can cause an inanimate object or animate creature to grow, or stop growing—to be what it is, or something else. A wizard, using the Speech, can cause death to slow down, or go somewhere else and come back later—just as the Lone Power caused it to come about in the first place. Creation, preservation, destruction, transformation—all are a matter of causing the fabric of being to do what you want it to. And the Speech is the key. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The power conferred by use of the Speech has, of course, one insurmountable limitation: the existence of death itself. As one renowned Senior Wizard has remarked, “Entropy has us outnumbered.” No matter how much preserving we do, the Universe will eventually die. But it will last longer because of our efforts—and since no one knows for sure whether another Universe will be born from the ashes of this one, the effort seems worthwhile.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>No one should take the Wizards’ Oath who is not committed to making wizardry a lifelong pursuit. The energy invested in a beginning wizard is too precious to be thrown away. Yet there are no penalties for withdrawal from the Art, except the knowledge that the Universe will die a little faster because of energy lost. On the other hand, there are no prizes for the service of Life—except life itself. The wizard gets the delight of working in a specialized area—magic—and gets a good look at the foundations of the Universe, the way things really work. It should be stated here that there are people who consider the latter more of a curse than a blessing. Such wizards usually lose their art. Magic does not live in the unwilling soul.</em>
</p>
<p>Izuku swallows again. He’s 15 years old. He’s just had his dreams dashed by his biggest hero. Would it be rash, to do this? Is he really willing to commit the rest of his life to...to this? To wizardry? To be trusted with the power to alter the very fabric of the Universe? To fight Death Itself?</p>
<p>It sounds big. And terrifying. And dangerous.</p>
<p>But isn’t the life of a hero all of those things too?</p>
<p>Izuku finds himself thinking again about All Might’s words from <em>So You Want to be a Hero.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>Being a hero is giving of yourself for the sake of others, and of the world. It is about being kind, even when the Universe is cruel. It is about smiling, even when it seems there is no hope. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It is about taking action, even when you are afraid. About putting aside your fear for the sake of doing what is right.</em>
</p>
<p>Aren’t those what the manual says are qualities of a wizard too? Wasn’t Izuku willing to dedicate his life to being a hero? </p>
<p>What is a person who works to save the entire Universe, if not a hero?</p>
<p>He looks down at the manual and reads the last paragraph of the chapter.</p>
<p>
  <em>Should you decide to go ahead and take the Oath, be warned that an ordeal of sorts will follow, a test of aptitude. If you pass, wizardry will ensue…</em>
</p>
<p>Izuku swallows heavily. That sounds daunting. But...the manual said it directly. That Izuku can see this manual at all means that those Powers think Izuku has potential, the potential to use this power well. That they think Izuku will be worth the investment.</p>
<p>How else can he repay that kind of faith except to try? If Izuku can save even one person, won’t it be worth it?</p>
<p>It’s with that thought Izuku squares his hunched shoulders and turns the page one more time. And there, at last, he finds it, a single block of text in simple, unadorned black ink.</p>
<p><em>The Wizards’ Oath, </em>the title reads in graceful kanji. </p>
<p><em>Oh,</em> Izuku thinks, thoughts finally stunned to momentary silence. <em>So this is what it was talking about.</em> He traces the character for <em>wizard </em>with a fingertip. As he does, a thrill of something like unease, something like anticipation, rolls down his spine. There’s a weight in the air, suddenly, electric, and Izuku swallows and thinks if this is fiction, it’s very convincing.</p>
<p>He reads through the text of the Oath. It seems straightforward enough, the clauses clear and agreeable. He reads it once, twice, three times, because if he’s going to make a fool of himself, he’s at least not going to stumble over his words.</p>
<p><em>And if it’s not real? What will you do then?</em> his anxiety whispers.</p>
<p>Izuku doesn’t know. But in this era of strange and wonderful quirks - getting only stranger and more powerful as time goes on - who’s to say what is and isn’t possible?</p>
<p>What does he have to lose by trying?</p>
<p>What does he stand to gain?</p>
<p>Izuku wonders what kind of place the world might be, if everyone were bound to an Oath like this. With that thought in mind, finally, he clears his throat, darting his tongue out to wet his lips, and opens his mouth to speak.</p>
<p><em>“In Life’s name,” </em>he reads into the hushed shadows of his bedroom, “<em>and for Life’s sake, I say that I will use the Art which is its gift in Life’s service alone, rejecting all other usages.”</em></p>
<p>He’s nearly whispering when he starts, and his voice cracks as he approaches the end of the first clause. He reaches it and pauses, swallows again.</p>
<p><em>Nothing to lose, </em>he reminds himself, and continues, voice a little stronger.</p>
<p>
  <em>“I will guard growth and ease pain. I will fight to preserve what grows and lives well in its own way,</em>
</p>
<p>He doesn't want to be a fighter, not at heart. He wants to <em>protect</em>, to <em>save</em>, and if he must fight to do that, well,  then<em> so be it</em>—</p>
<p>He forces himself to speak up more and barrels into the next line, refusing to allow himself to hesitate again.</p>
<p>
  <em>“And I will change no object or creature, unless its growth and life, or that of the system of which it is part, are threatened.</em>
</p>
<p>Something is happening, he thinks. There’s a weight to the shadows, to the silence; like the Universe is holding its breath in the face of this moment.</p>
<p>“<em>To these ends, in the practice of my Art, I will ever put aside fear for courage, and death for life, when it is right to do so —</em></p>
<p>Izuku nearly stumbles again as the air around him seems to begin to <em>ring</em>, to sing. It’s a song of furious joy, of wonder and hope and <em>potential, </em>that electric weight made manifest, and it bolsters him as he recovers, as he prepares to utter the final words, to turn this promise out into the world. The shadows rise, and he raises his voice with them, into the chorus, into the listening silence beneath, unwavering, and finishes—</p>
<p>
  <em>“—until Universe’s end.”</em>
</p>
<p>The words seem to echo in the stillness of his bedroom, like the last notes of a cadenza rolling across the audience. Izuku listens to them fade out as he struggles to catch his breath, suddenly breathless like he’s run a kilometer without stopping. He closes his eyes and focuses on breathing, and as he slowly calms down, Izuku takes stock of himself.</p>
<p>Other than the breathlessness, he doesn’t feel all that different from before. Izuku swallows down the disappointment that tries to surge up his throat. No. <em>Something</em> happened, he knows it, he felt it; it can’t have been just his imagination.</p>
<p>
  <em>Think, Izuku. If you’re a wizard now, what should you—</em>
</p>
<p>Izuku blinks and then nearly smacks himself for missing something so obvious.</p>
<p>A spell. If he’s a wizard, then he should cast a spell. He’s holding a supposed manual for wizardry, isn’t he?</p>
<p>What kind of spell, though? “Something simple,” Izuku mutters to himself, and starts flipping pages, looking for that one chapter—“Introduction to Spells, Binding, and <em>Geasa</em>.” “Not too long, not too energy intensive, did the index talk about needing materials? Yeah, no materials then—“</p>
<p>In his haste and burgeoning excitement, Izuku fumbles the book and it falls to the floor. Izuku scrambles to pick it up. And lo and behold, what should it have fallen open to but a page entitled</p>
<p>
  <em>Basic Utility Spells for the Beginning Wizard</em>
</p>
<p>Izuku blinks. “Well that’s convenient,” he mutters. “Are manuals intelligent...?” He decides to put that thought aside for the moment and just be thankful for it. He skims the first page and quickly finds himself torn. How is he supposed to pick one? A spell for invisibility, for unlocking, for warding against theft; for repairing, for locating, for warming; for shielding and for healing minor wounds. </p>
<p>(Izuku thinks of Kacchan and swallows, then shoves that thought aside too.)</p>
<p>Then—</p>
<p><em>For light</em>, Izuku reads, and smiles slowly. That sounds perfect for a first spell. He taps his finger against it, and jerks in surprise when the page wipes itself clean of text. Well, that’s certainly a point in favor of all this being real. As he watches, the page refills itself with an extended description of the spell—words, pronunciation guide, annotations indicating the parts of speech, diagram of the written form of the spell, common variations, and more. Izuku blinks, overwhelmed by the influx of information. So much for what seemed so simple. Perhaps it’s a warning, to not take this lightly. He wasn’t planning to; he intends to learn all of it. And he will, he swears, but right now the need to know that <em>this is real</em> overwhelms everything.</p>
<p>As though it can hear his thoughts, much of the text grays itself out, leaving only the characters of the Speech and the pronunciation guide, which then enlarge themselves. Below them, another character appears that looks something like a Celtic knot combined with an infinity symbol. Indeed, it’s labelled <em>The Wizard’s Knot.</em> and the caption, <em>To cast a spell, you must begin and end with the Knot. Thus, you may practice the syllables individually or as a whole without fear of casting the spell before you are ready.</em></p>
<p>Well that’s good. Izuku has no desire to cast an incorrect spell and turn himself into a toad. Or maybe set himself on fire, given the nature of this spell. Izuku squints at the pronunciation guide and then tentatively sounds out the first character. It flashes yellow, and the pronunciation guide adjusts itself to accommodate his mistake. He flushes and tries again, and this time the character flashes green. He grins, delighted. He says it a few more times to fix it in his memory. It’s easier to say than he thought it would be; it feels natural on his tongue, like something he’s always known, deep down.</p>
<p><em>The language of the Universe</em>, Izuku thinks, almost giddy, and moves on to the next character. It doesn’t take him very long to learn the whole thing; the spell is very short. Izuku moves on to learning the spoken form of the Knot. He takes particular care with this one, watching the symbol flash green again and again until he’s finally certain he’s got it.</p>
<p>Then, at last, there’s nothing left to do but try to cast it. Izuku thinks for a moment and then holds out his hand, palm up, since the description says the base form of the light is a sphere. He realizes he’s trembling; with anticipation; with fear, with <em>hope.</em> </p>
<p>Izuku swallows. “Okay,” he whispers. “Okay, I can do this.” He takes a deep breath and straightens his spine. He reads over the words one more time. Then, with as much conviction as he can muster, he pronounces the spell as clearly as he can, starting with the Knot. </p>
<p>(His voice trembles like the rest of him, but bravery has never been about a lack of fear.)</p>
<p>He feels the difference with the addition of the Knot immediately. Though the spell is short, Izuku feels the way the Universe leans in to listen to him, like when he took the Oath. It’s a heady feeling, after so many years of ridicule and isolation, to have the Universe itself listen to you.</p>
<p>Izuku smiles, wobbly but determined, and finishes with the Knot. <em>Let there be light,</em> he tells the Universe, power and fierce, undeniable will wrapped up in the skin of a boy, and -</p>
<p>In his hand, without hesitation, light blossoms. A sphere about the size of a tennis ball, warm and bright and beautiful, like the Sun is in his palm. It throws back the shadows in his room, casting everything in brilliant gold. Izuku’s other hand comes up to cover his mouth as he stares at it in fragile awe.</p>
<p><em>It’s real, </em>he thinks. <em>I’m a wizard. I’m a <strong>wizard.</strong> </em>He clenches his hand slightly, reflexively, and feels it hum against his skin. The warmth it exudes doesn’t hurt but instead fills him with the same happiness and relief and awe he feels every time All Might says <em>I am here. Here, </em>the light sings. <em>I am here, I am here, I am<strong> here</strong>, I will <strong>shine</strong>, I will <strong>be -</strong></em></p>
<p>This—this feeling—is the reason he wants to be a hero. This is the feeling he wants to give to others, to make them smile and <em>know</em>, without a shadow of a doubt, that everything will be okay. </p>
<p>He can do that now. He’s been given the power to <em>save people.</em> There are tears in his eyes as he cups the light with both hands, trembling now not with fear, but fierce, all encompassing <em>joy.</em>   </p>
<p>“Thank you,” he whispers, through the tears - to who, he doesn’t know. Later, though, he will be sure to learn how to say it in the Speech, to impress it upon the Universe, the depths of his gratitude. He doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to express it properly, but as he sits there, the wizard light dancing in his palms, tears glittering like stars on his cheeks, thinking of all he can do, all he can be, all he can<em> give</em>,</p>
<p>Izuku thinks that, when all is said and done, actions will speak louder than words.</p>
<p>“’<em>Til Universe’s end</em>,” he whispers, one more time, and it feels like a beginning.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hi everyone, I'm back with more yw/bnha 'verse, and it only took me two and a half years! I finished this in one giant burst today after finally deciding to scrap 3k words and rebuild them from the ground up.</p>
<p>anyway, so it begins! izuku is now a novice wizard, and will soon embark on his Ordeal. which I...do have a fic planned for but my track record for finishing multi-chapter fics is bad. we'll see! there is some foreshadowing here for what it will entail, which you may be able to easily pick out if you've read the first fic in this series. though I note that that fic and this one do NOT take place in the same version of this universe, even if Izuku has the same Ordeal. the first one was a self-indulgent one-off.</p>
<p>you may notice the second incident with the sludge villain is not mentioned. did izuku miss it, or did it not happen at all? that's for me to know and you to find out! </p>
<p>all manual text taken directly from So You Want to Be a Wizard - yes, the book is a Reference - except for the tiny addition about quirks. </p>
<p>thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, pls yell at me in comments or if you desire, at the same name on twitter!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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